Scarlett Eyes
by Really Not Here Anymore
Summary: Will and Djaq's daughter, Juliet Saffiya Scarlett, is almost sixteen, and growing up fast. Her mother is missing, and she is reforming the gang... What will happen?
1. Chapter 1

Scarlett Eyes

Scarlett Eyes

**(A/N: If you read BeckyScarlett, you'll probably know the character of Juliet. I am ****not**** stealing her from Becky. She's ours… ;) Prouds**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the characters from BBC Robin Hood. I part-own Juliet Scarlett (see above), and some of the other characters (Katie, Cass) belong to my friends. The other characters belong to me.)**

--

Chapter One

"_That will be your crowning glory_

_Darling when they tell your story_

_They'll call your heart of gold your crowning glory_

_The most glorious part of you!"_

"_Crowning Glory", Raven & Julie Andrews_

Juliet Saffiya Scarlett was beautiful, there was no question about that.

At fifteen years old, she was petite, with oaken foreign skin like her mother's, and midnight black hair which she wore long, tickling her elbows as she walked through the forest. Out of both of her parents, though, she most resembled her father; she had his features, his attitude and she undoubtedly had his eyes; the bright green, startling Scarlett Eyes.

Although she wore simple clothes and a wooden pendant on a leather thong around her neck, she was still a real head-turner, and she knew it. If she was honest with herself, it embarrassed her; all of the boys at the camp flocked round her, much as their parents might tell them not to… especially, she had noticed, David A'Dale.

As she stepped through the leafy entrance to the camp, her father considered all of this, he sat, carving a wooden something, and smiled as his only child perched beside him on a log.

"Where's Mum?" she asked him for the millionth time that year.

"I don't know, Jules," her father conceded, sighing, "I just don't know…"

"Does anyone?"

"If anyone knew, they would tell us, sweet." Will Scarlett murmerred, more to the watching eyes than anyone else.

Ironically, his wife, Djaq, had disappeared shortly after Juliet had turned fifteen - almost a year ago, now - whilst looking for honey.

"Honey…" His lips formed the word, but grief would not allow the sound to escape. For once, Juliet noted, her father had succumbed to tears.

--

She was a coward, and she knew it. As Djaq Scarlett stared at the same dusty patch of wall for the three-hundred-and-fiftieth night in a row - she knew for she had counted - the only thing she could think was that she was a coward.

She didn't have to remain here; she had returned before, had she not?

Except… except returning would mean conceding that she had been wrong, and Djaq was so used to being correct that she didn't know if she would be able to stand it.

And… and last time she had returned with Will. She had not been alone…

She had had help.

Help.

Help.

"HELP!"

--

Juliet, Will knew, was not going to stop asking. A million and one times, it had been now. A million and one…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"_I never wanted to say this,_

_You never wanted to stay_

_I put my faith in you_

_So much faith in you_

_And you just threw it away…"_

"_For a pessimist, I'm pretty optimistic", Paramore_

The 29th June that year dawned cold and bright, and on two sides of the world, Juliet's parents were remembering her birth…

"_She has your nose!"_

"_And your skin…"_

"_And your eyes. She has the Scarlett's eyes!"_

As she tumbled out of her blankets, Juliet yawned, and her father smiled at her from the fire at the entrance, where something was being browned for eating.

"You're awake early…" she remarked, loudly, to cover the distance. Around her, people were stirring in their sleep. She prodded Marian - named after her father's first love (both father and second love, Rosemarie, had long since deserted the camp, preferring a cosy cottage) - as Will replied;

"So are you."

"I know." Juliet smiled, "but it **is** my birthday."

"I know…" Will grinned, standing up and walking towards her, "Happy Sixteenth Birthday, Jules!"

"Thanks…" she whispered, choking back tears, and hugging her father tightly.

--

'That blasted letter', Djaq thought, cursing herself. If it had not been for that letter, she would be back in Sherwood with the man she loved and the daughter she adored, celebrating Jules' sixteenth birthday.

That cursed letter… she pulled the fading, ragged parchment from her pocket and stared blankly at it.

Her Arabic, she had to admit, was a little rusty, but she could still understand;

"_My dearest Saffy,_

_Whilst visiting Uncle Bassam recently, I discovered that you visited him with friends from the unholy nations many, many years ago, and that you were then residing in England._

_I can only hope that you still do, and that you have received this correspondence…_

_I also learned, Saff, that you thought me dead, like so many others in our family. My dear Saffiya, I am very much alive._

_I am staying currently not too far from Uncle Bassam's, and I implore you to visit once more…_

_Your brother, _

_**Djaq Al-Jabar**__"_

--

The camp was full that evening. Will had out-done himself, having invited more than the usual to Juliet's birthday supper; Allan A'Dale, his wife Cassidy and their two sons, David and Mark, lived at the camp, as did Marian Huntingdon, but Robin, Rosemarie, Luke Scarlett, his wife Katie and their three children, Abigail, Jonathon and Tom did not. Nor did Much, ever serving, and Eve, his newly-wed wife.

As she smiled as all the happy faces surrounding her, Juliet turned to her father. "I'm going to find her, Dad." She said, bold as brass. "I'm going to find Mum."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"_Here comes the rain again_

_Falling from the stars_

_Drenched in my pain again_

_Becoming who we are…"_

"_When September Ends", Greenday_

"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Will shouted, causing Abigail and Tom, the youngest at five years old, to cower near their mother. Juliet smiled calmly up at her father, and explained; "I am sixteen years old. I can do what I want, and nothing you can do will stop me. I can go, and I will go. I want my mother back."

She could see the tears prickling her father's eyes, and she tried to comfort him. Then, she stood, and walked back to her bed.

--

Djaq sighed. She had longed for her brother's company for so long, but he was lost in the mists of time. He could not get it through his head that she now used his name, and had done for decades, that she was no longer Saffiya, Saffy, Saff… Saffiya Anjali Al-Jabar had died with her twin brother.

Oh, and he was dead.

So, so dead.

Dead to her.

--

Allan had been a little reluctant, Juliet note, to pass in the facts. But, with the right coaxing, she had managed to extract the necessary details. She had to admit that she had not known that much about her mother… yes, she could speak a little Arabic, so she knew that, but the story of her mother and father, of the old gang in Jerusalem, and of her mother's family she had known nothing.

Allan had told her everything she needed to know, however. She was confident that her mother was within her reach, and to that end, she began to gather belongings into a baf, ready for the off.

"Oi!" David A'Dale, 18 years old and his father's double (except for his eyes; he had his Mother's eyes. Scarlett Eyes, for Cassidy was Will's cousin), shouted, "Jules! Where are you going?"

Juliet pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled at David. "Jerusalem." She said.

"You're not!" Mark declared, appearing beside his brother on the bunk opposite Juliet's.

"I am." She said, pulling her bag on to her right shoulder and straightening out her clothes.

"Not on your own, you're not, Jules." David said, leaping down from his bunk and slinging a cloak around his shoulders. "We're here because this is the home of Robin's Gang, doing good in Nottingham. Well, Robin may have deserted us, but we can start again, a new, younger gang, right?"

Juliet sighed, and nodded, and Mark, jumping down too, yelped with agreement. "MARIAN!" he called, and she came running into the camp from outside, where she had been collecting wood with Will. She leant against the entrance, dark haired, dark eyed, but pale, eyes glittering. "She's going, isn't she?" Marian asked, and the A'Dale brothers nodded gleefully. "Do you reckon Jonnie, Abbie or Tom'll come?"

"The twins are too young." Juliet said, "but Jonnie… he must be, what? Fourteen now?"

Marian nodded, picking up her own bag.

"Maybe, maybe not." David decided. "You coming, Jules?" he grinned.

She nodded, amazed. The old gang was reforming afresh around her, it would seem.

She told them she would be a minute, and then she ran outside to her father. "You're going, aren't you?" he asked, standing up with logs in his arms. She simply nodded. "Juliet, it isn't that I don't want you to… I'm just worried… I've already lost your Mum, I don't want to lose you too…"

"I'm not alone." She assured him, "David, Mark, Marian and (probably) Jonnie are coming too… the old gang, starting new, yeah?" she smiled, and her father nodded. "If that's what you want, Juliet." Will said.

She leant up, standing on tip-toes, and kissed her father on the cheek. "I know about the pigeons." She said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"_I'll spread my wings _

_And I'll learn how to fly_

_I'll do what it takes_

_Until I touch the sky"_

_**- Breakaway; Kelly Clarkson**_

Will hated lying to his daughter. He hated himself even more for not beating her to it; for not heading after his wife first, himself. But, he knew that she had had a hard decision to make, and that she **had** to do it; she had to go and find her brother.

Will admitted to himself that he would have done the same.

--

The new gang was assembled in full; Juliet, David, Mark, Jonnie, Marian and David's friend Jonas mounted the old gang's horses and rode southwards.

During the long periods of silence on the journey, Juliet had time to think hard about a lot of things; why, for instance, had her father not put two and two together and headed for Jerusalem in search of his wife himself?

When she asked this if the others one afternoon almost a week into te journey, all they said was "I don't know, Jules…", before they turned back to their suppers.

Juliet could not admit to herself that her mother had left her father, or that her father had not cared enough to head after his wife. She knew, within herself, that there must have been some sort of mutual understanding between them. After all, she reminded herself, when last seen together that had definitely still been sickeningly in love…

--

There was a knock at the door, and Djaq Scarlett stood up. "Enter" she muttered in Arabic.

Her brother, taller than her, and more bitter, but otherwise as identical as the day they had been born, entered the room.

"Saffy…" he murmured, leaning up against the mud-baked wall, "you cannot confine yourself to this room forever."

She stood up, and anger flared in her dark eyes, "Do not," she said voice faltering from hatred, "call me Saffy!"

That had scared him. Thus far, she had been placid, if not silent, but something within Djaq Scarlett flared then, and he knew he could take it no further.

--

They reached the South Coast within a week, and as Juliet and her fang dismounted their steeds to walk through the town, the presence of Jonnie soon became a valuable asset.

"Jon?" David asked, "Wasn't your mother a sea-farer?"

"Sailor." Juliet said, and Jonnie shook his head, eyebrows raised.

"No." he said, "She was a pirate." He said, a wry smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"_Splashing through the sand-bar_

_Talking by the campfire_

_It's the simple things in life like when and where_

_We didn't have no internet_

_But man I never will forget_

_The way the moonlight shined upon her hair"_

_**- All Summer Long; KidRock**_

It turned out that the sun of Katie A-Dale could easily sneak six almost-outlaws onto a ship to the Holy Lands. For some inexplicable reason, all Jonnie had had to do was vaguely sneer at the ship's men as he told them his name, and they were granted board on a boat for nothing. Comfortable board, too, Juliet mused, hanging lazily in a hammock, swinging gently from side to side.

By day, they talked, or else sat in silence, thinking, and by night they swung in their hammocks. Over the few days spent on the ship, Juliet noticed changes in peoples' characters; David grew away from her, turning his flattery instead to Marian (good, thought Juliet; David was a blood relative!), Mark became more quiet, Jonnie, more confident, basking in his mother's wake gladly.

She also noticed changes in herself, though; tensions building whenever she became close to Jonas, dark red blotches appearing on her cheeks at the most awkward times… in fairness, though, it was probably worth it…

--

"Funny, isn't it?" Allan joked, perched on a log by the campfire, Cass leaning delicately against him.

"What?" Will asked, perplexed.

"All of them…" Allan choked on his piece of squirrel and waved his arms at random towards bunks behind, "…off doing good!"

"Mmm…" Will mumbled incoherently.

"It's like they're the new us!" Allan persisted, and Will stood up, walking away, unamused.

--

It was a sunny day, the sea was flat, and the new gang were lounging on the deck, chatting; David and Marian, Jonnie and Mark, Jules (blushing) and Jonas (equally embarrassed).

Suddenly, the ship lurched painfully, and Juliet felt her stomach respond in much the same way. She stood up, stumbling faintly towards the edge. Alarmed, Jonas stood too, and caught his arm around her waist to steady her. Once the sea calmed, and her stomach settled again, Juliet looked up to see exactly who had come to her rescue. When she caught his eye, two things struck her; firstly, she should have guessed, and secondly, she would not have wanted it to be anyone else.

She swallowed, forcing her gaze away, and reminded herself that she had a job to do.

The was a time and a place.

--

Djaq could stand the tension, the boredom, the tedium no longer. It was time to take action.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"_Many nights we pray with no proof anyone could hear_

_In our hearts; a hopeful song we barely understood_

_Now we are not afraid_

_Although we know there's much to fear:_

_We were moving mountains long before we knew we could."_

_**- When You Believe; Leon Jackson**_

They docked as near as possible to Jerusalem, exactly as Allan had said to, and Juliet lead her comrades out into the blinding light.

"Right…" David muttered, "where to, Jules?"

"Jerusalem." She whispered, as if it were that simple.

--

Djaq Scarlett scowled at the floor and knocked on her uncle's door again. Again, there was no reply. No matter, though, she told herself, she did not owe him anything. She could leave whenever she wanted, and she could stand this God-forsaken country no more. It was time.

--

The heat of the mid-day sun was ridiculous. They had been walking for what seemed like an eternity with no luck at all. There had been no sign of civilisation for days, and Juliet knew her companions were growing weary.

She glanced back at them uneasily, and forced a smile. "It cannot be much further…" she said, but for a millisecond, her expression faltered, and they noticed. Of course they noticed. They **always** noticed…

"Who're you bloody kidding, Jules?" David asked, "We're going round in circles!"

--

Will sighed as he watched the rain, again. He shouldn't have let her go… Juliet. He shouldn't have let her go. Or Djaq. He should have been more assertive.

Anything could have happened to them… **Anything…**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"_We're coming with you. It was decided weeks ago… Years ago really…"_

_**- Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince**_

"Yeah?" Juliet asked, her voice rising.

"Yeah." David said, standing still, a protective barrier between Juliet and the others.

"Well AT LEAST YOU KNOW YOUR BLOODY MOTHER IS ALIVE!" she creamed, suddenly furious. "SAFE!" she added, as an afterthought.

"Oh yeah?" asked David, "Who's choice was it to go, huh?"

Juliet stared, flummoxed.

"HERS, YOU IDIOT! SHE CHOSE TO LEAVE YOU AND YOUR LOSER DAD! SHE BLOODY CHOSE!"

Tears prickled in Juliet's green eyes and she turned away from them. "If that's how you feel, why did you come?" she asked.

"I'm starting to wonder that myself." David muttered, bitterly.

"I didn't ask you to come." Juliet reminded him, still staring pointedly away, "you volunteered. And if you don't want to stay, I don't care. Leave." She said, trying to be inconspicuous when she wiped away a tear from her eye. "Typical bloody A'Dale…" she added under her breath.

--

Djaq Al-Jabar was searching. His sister, stupid, hopeless, romantic Saffiya had disappeared. And he knew where she had gone.

Home. To her new family.

You cannot choose your blood-family, but you can surround yourself with friends you love as family, and call them brothers, sisters, lovers.

That was what Saffiya had done, and he envied her for it.

He had no one.

--

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, JULIET?" David shouted, anger bubbling over within him as he had never felt it before, and certainly never towards sweet Juliet.

"I said," Jules muttered, turning to look at him, their emerald Scarlett eyes meeting, "typical bloody A'Dale."

David threw himself at her and started to punch and kick anything he could reach. The others watched in startled horror for a moment before Jonas threw himself into the fray, wrenching the two fighters apart.

"STOP!" he shouted, "STOP!"

And, to his horror, they did.

--

He shouldn't have ever let them go…

--

She could leave anytime she wanted, and now was her time. She was riding her Uncle's steed through the desert, the wind ruffling her spiky hair, and it felt **good…**

--

They all stared at Jonas, confused. He was not one of them by blood, but he was showing them all up, behaving more as they professed to than they were.

"So." He said, scowling at Mark, Jonnie and Marian in turn, "who're you with?"

They continued to stare at him, bemused.

"Him?" Jonas asked, pointing cruelly at David, his best friend, in complete disgust. "Or us?" he walked over to Juliet, pulled her from the desert sands and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, comfortingly. "Because we said we would go to Jerusalem and find her mother. I'm going to be true to my word." He finished, glowering at them all.

--

**(A/N: That chapter is for everyone who is in **_**my chosen**_** family, all of the people who **_**I value**_** as my brothers and sisters, the way Djaq Scarlett values the gang.  
You know who you are, and I love you all. 3 xx)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"_Oh, but I'm proud of you, but I'm proud of you!_

_Nothing left to make me feel small,_

_Luck has left me standing so tall!"_

_**- Gold; Spandau Ballet**_

Marian glanced at the others and walked over to Juliet and Jonas. She put her hands on her hips, glaring, and for a moment, she resembled her name-sake.

That just left Mark and Jon to decide. But, Juliet realised, they both had A'Dale blood, as well as Scarlett. Had she offended them too? Did it even matter?

--

Luke sat down beside Will and patted his shoulders, smiling slightly. "They'll be alright." He said, staring into his big brother's empty eyes. "They're strong, Djaq and Jules. They'll be fine."

--

Jonnie looked at Mark, and an understanding passed between them. They would be going with Juliet. They might have A'Dale blood, traitor's blood, but a bigger part of both of them was Scarlett. David might have received the Scarlett eyes, but they had received the loyalty. Never faltering loyalty.

"We're with Jules." Mark told David. "You can come or you can go."

"It doesn't matter to us." Jon nodded, and they both walked over to stand with Juliet.

--

"I know." Was all Will could think to say.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"_And everyone is running and I come to find a refuge in the easy silence that you make for me_

_It's OK if you've got nothing more to say to me_

_In the peaceful quiet you create for me, and the way you keep the world at bay for me."_

_**- Easy Silence; Dixie Chicks**_

David breathed deeply, trying not to let them see the horrible predicament they had left him. Juliet had beaten him, easily. She had her morals, her reasons, her loyalty and her friends, and all he had was his traitor's reputation. Not even his dignity had been left intact. If he went with his gut - turned around, there and then, and walked away - he would only be enforcing their prejudices, and he knew it. Yet… if he went, he would be walking blindly into the unknown; into hell…

He looked at them, each of them, in their eyes and he saw the sincerity within, the strengths in their convictions, and in their faith and belief, and he couldn't help but wonder if they were right.

--

She had been riding for a few hours… just a few hours… when she saw a mirage.

On the horizon, down the hill of sand, stood what looked like several people. But… of course, they couldn't be… too far away… mind playing tricks… **had** to be.

--

"Alright…" he sighed, staring from Juliet and Jonas, to Mark, Marian and Jonathon. He was weak. They were strong… together. Even though the battle inside his head was still raging and telling him to stick by his convictions, but he knew he couldn't. A promise was a promise, no matter how daft, he conceded. "I'm in." he said, with what he hoped was an _I've-been-an-idiot-and-I-am-very-very-sorry_ grin.

To his immense surprise, it had worked. He had made the right decision. They were all staring at him in awe and happiness, great grins breaking on their sun-reddened faces.

"David!" Juliet yelped gleefully, and, breaking free from Jonas, she threw herself at him and hugged him. "You're coming!" she grinned, loosening her grip to allow Marian (and the others) to join in.

"Yeah…" David grunted, unsure of all the attention - and how to react to it - "I'll come. So," he paused, "it can't be far now, can it, Jules?"

She stared at him, and slapped him smartly in the head. "No." she grinned, "It can't."

And so they trudged on.

--

Had any member of Robin Hood's original gang been able to see Juliet and her gang in the desert at hat moment, they would have almost fallen off their horse; the resemblances between gang-the-first and gang-the-second were so remarkable... The same good meaning, friendliness, warmth and tension, the same witty banter, to a tee. Remarkable…

--

"Remarkable…" Djaq Scarlett mouthed, staring at the mirage in front of her. She had just almost fallen off her horse, the resemblance was so uncanny. She rode toward the mirage, and the mirage walked blindly toward her, and this is the point at which two stories meet;

Juliet, her arms around Jonas on the left, and Marian on the right, spotted a mirage riding toward her and she stopped dead in her tracks. Flicking her long, black hair behind her, she stared in awe at the small, slight - even pixie-like - dark figure before her, a hundred meters away, and watched as the figure dismounted her horse,

And at that moment, something within her clicked, and Juliet abandoned her companions to throw herself through the desert wastes between them.

As she reached the figure, Juliet hugged her, hugged her tight, tried to put a thousand _unsaid things_ into that hug…

"Mum…" she whispered.

"Juliet Saffiya…" came the reply.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

"_Hands touch_

_Eyes meet_

_Sudden silence_

_Sudden heat_

_Hearts leap in a giddy whirl…"_

_**- I'm not that girl; Idina Menzel Wicked**_

Juliet and Djaq's reunion had been happy, easy, tearful… natural. They had neither asked why the other was there, and had put the past behind them.

Jonas had remarked, blushing, how alike they were.

And so the gang and the lonely Saracen had returned to Sherwood, where the welcome was not so natural, nor so easy.

The Scarlett females went on ahead, and Juliet chattered aimlessly about their journey, Jonas, her father, Jonas, her birthday and Jonas, while her mother managed to convince herself that Will would not be angry.

As they walked in to camp, Will looked up, and did a double-take. His mind **had** to be having a laugh… and yet the looks on their faces made it quite clear that they were real.

He stood at once, and ran to his daughter, hugging her and kissing the top of her head, but all the while gazing uneasily at Djaq.

She caught his eye, and she stared at him pointedly, and mouthed "I'm sorry…" and hoped he would understand.

--

Around the campfire that night, everything seemed better. Jules and David screamed injustices and swear-words at each other and then smacked hands in a high-five, all their differences forgotten. Marian carefully positioned herself next to David, and Jonas managed to squeeze himself beside Juliet. Allan just grinned and said, "I'm not being funny, but you're all mental…"

Will and Djaq did not join in with all of this. They walked through the forest, occasionally talking, but mostly staring at the floor. Eventually, Will reached out his hand and took Djaq's.

She took that to mean she was forgiven.

--

When they returned, they found that darkness had swept over the forest and that the fire was now nothing but embers. Allan and the adults (HA!) had long since headed for their respective bunks, but David, Marian, Jon and Mark were still talking. Juliet and Jonas had fallen asleep where they sat, her head on his shoulder, and his arm around her,

Will smiled a Djaq when he saw this, his eyes twinkling, and he let go of her hand. Walking over to his daughter, he scooped her up and carried her over to her bunk. As he lay her down, her eyes flickered open and she grinned at him.

"Did I do right, Dad?" she asked.

"You did brilliant, Jules!" he grinned, "fantastic!"


	11. Unsaid Things Lyrics By Saff Scarlett

Unsaid Things

Life

Is so confusing

And I just want to go right back to sleep

But I can't

Because I'm losing

Everything on Earth that means that much to me

I'm so sick of damned waiting

I've got reams and reams and reams of unsaid things

But then…

Patience is a virtue,

That's what they say

Patience is a virtue

Today

But people don't have virtues

And people don't hold true

So if it's patience that I need,

Screw you…

Sadly, just realised,

I'm in too deep.

Mixed up in a life I shouldn't be…

It's been six months now

And I haven't heard a thing!

And I'm so sick of damned waiting

I've got reams and reams and reams of unsaid things

But then…

Patience is a virtue,

That's what they say

Patience is a virtue

Today

But people don't have virtues

And people don't hold true

So if it's patience that I need,

Screw you…

At the end of the day

It's my life now and I'll live it how I like

You've had your chances, and you've had your time

But I can't live like this forever,

I've got to go my own way.

But then…

Patience is a virtue,

That's what they say

Patience is a virtue

Today

But people don't have virtues

And people don't hold true

So if it's patience that I need,

Screw you…


End file.
